Murder at Northleigh Manor

Hugh
Hardie’s mission as a hard-hitting journalist, is to investigates a miscarriage of justice.
Brian Chubb, a man with learning difficulties, has been convicted of and imprisoned for the
rape and murder of Jacqueline Walsh, whose body was found in the Northleigh Manor pond, where
she lived. Northleigh Manor – a fictitious village – on the outskirts of Eastleigh, in Hampshire,
is caught in a time-warp, where the residents of the nine cottages are ruled by the Lord of
the Manor, Colonel Pilkington-Smyth. Behind the façade of respectability all is not what it
appears to be. In the process of clearing Brian’s name Hugh uncovers scandals that threaten
the survival of the village. The author describes the village and its people with humour and
compassion, and although there is much sorrow they are balanced by joy and love.